'Climate Kids' Lawsuit Beats the Government, Again

In this July 18, 2018, file photo, lawyers and youth plaintiffs lineup behind a banner after a hearing before Federal District Court Judge Ann Aiken between lawyers for the Trump Administration and the... (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP, File)

(Newser)
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A lawsuit filed by young activists who say the government is failing to protect them from climate change is still alive, the AP reports. In San Francisco on Friday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government's second request for an order directing a lower court to dismiss the case. The lawsuit brought by 21 children and young adults asserts the government has long known that carbon pollution causes climate change but has failed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. They are seeking various environmental remedies. The judges said the government's first request failed to meet the high bar for having the case dismissed at this stage. A trial is set to begin Oct. 29 in Eugene, Oregon.

In related news, New York City's effort to hold oil companies responsible for global warming was rejected by a judge Thursday who said placing blame for the issue is not the judiciary's responsibility, per the AP. US District Judge John F. Keenan said global warming is a problem best left to the other two branches of government—Congress and the executive, notes CNBC. "The immense and complicated problem of global warming requires a comprehensive solution that weighs the global benefits of fossil fuel use with the gravity of the impending harms," Keenan writes in his decision. Meanwhile, Baltimore on Friday become the latest US city to try and hold the world's biggest oil companies financially responsible for global warming, per the AP. The city filed a lawsuit in Baltimore Circuit Court for unspecified damages against 26 oil and gas companies. (Read more global warming stories.)